Renegade (TV series)

"He was a cop, and good at his job. But he committed the ultimate sin and testified against other cops gone bad - cops that tried to kill him, but got the woman he loved instead. Framed for murder, now he prowls the badlands, an outlaw hunting outlaws, a bounty hunter - a RENEGADE!"

Reno Raines, a formerly well-respected policeman, is framed for the shooting of his girlfriend Valerie and the murder of another cop by Donald "Dutch" Dixon, and is forced to go on the run from the very law he used to uphold. Thus, his becomes a mission to find the evidence that will clear him; in the meantime, he works alongside noted bounty-hunter Bobby Sixkiller under the alias "Vince Black" to bring other criminals to justice.

Renegade starred actor Lorenzo Lamas in the titular role, and ran for five years, from September 1992 to April 1997, for a total of five seasons, 110 episodes in all. Seasons 1-4 ran on broadcast Syndication, with Season 5 airing on the USA Network. The series was one of several produced by the now-deceased Stephen J. Cannell.

Ascended Fangirl: Sandy Carruthers, Cheyenne's replacement, had taken bounty hunting lessons provided in Bobby Sixkiller's home video courses, and had graduated from said courses at the time of her joining Reno and Bobby at the beginning of Season 5.

The Atoner: One episode features a small colony of ex-cons who have become this and are trying to make an honest living. Unfortunately, several of the local townspeople are jerks toward them.

Cool Shades: Reno, Bobby Sixkiller and Dixon wear them from time to time.

Damsel in Distress: Cheyenne Phillips, Bobby Sixkiller's sister and assistant and Reno's love interest, sometimes acted as this; her replacement, Sandy Carruthers, would later take up this mantle on occasion. A number of one-shot female characters played this role Once an Episode as well.

Deadpan Snarker: Reno has a lot of moments of this. As shown in the Season 5 episode "Top Ten With a Bullet":

Bobby:The '90s are history, so we have to say "hi" and "hello" to the "O's!" Reno: Wake me up in '01.

Defeat Means Friendship: Bobby Sixkiller, Reno's main ally in his quest, had originally been hired by Dixon to capture Reno.

Inspector Javert: Most police in the series play it straight. Also done with Dutch Dixon, officially; but it's also subverted in that his acting this way is merely to cover up the fact that he framed Reno for his own crime.

Invincible Hero: Averted. Reno is certainly tough, but even he can and does get injured - sometimes seriously so (it's a plot point in one episode).

Missed Him by That Much: One episode ends with Reno and Bobby arriving at Hound Adams' last known location...only to find a video-taped message from him demanding that Reno kill Dixon before Adams will come forward to vindicate Reno. Naturally, Reno is not amused.

Put on a Bus: Cheyenne Phillips at the end of Season 4, replaced by Sandy Carruthers (played by Sandra Ferguson). The real-life reason was the split between Lorenzo Lamas and Kathleen Kinmont, who had been married in 1989 and divorced in 1993, but continued to stay civil for the sake of the show--until Lamas began a relationship with Playboy model Shauna Sand. In response to this, Kinmont went on the Howard Stern show and slammed Lamas' new relationship; in response, she got fired by Lamas, who was at that time the show's executive producer. Theselinks provide further detail.

Stern Chase: Reno seeks to find the one witness who can clear his name; simultaneously, Dixon seeks to capture/kill Reno.

Story Arc: Finding Hound Adams, the witness who can clear Reno's name, is this. Compounding the issue is the fact that Adams refuses to come forward unless Reno kills Dixon first, out of fear for his own life.

Town with a Dark Secret: Played with - one town Reno and Bobby visit has a secret that the residents don't want getting out. The secret in question? The town is the residence of legendary outlaw D.B. Cooper, now an old man.